http://www.balloonfestnj.com/The 4th Annual Bicycle Balloon Race is to be held on August 4, 2010, at the Warren County Farmers Fair and Hot Air Balloon Festival.

We’ve now gotten used to having these nice long days, but they won’t last forever. Savor this last month of summer outside enjoying this full calendar of family riding events.

If you know of something I've missed, please email bettybike@jjournal.com, or add it into the comment fields below for all to share.

August 3

Allaire Beginner Bike Rides, sponsored by JORBA each Tuesday. This is an easy paced and friendly mountain bike ride through the trails of Allaire State Park. Helmets, water, a bike, and a desire to meet some fun folk are all that is required. Meetup is at 6:00 pm. For more information, please see JORBA’s website, or contact Frank Harms at allaire@jorba.org.

Join one of Maplewood and South Orange’s Bike Safety Awareness Programs, featuring bike registration and free helmets. Sponsored by the Maplewood & South Orange Police Department,
YouthNet, and the South Orange Municipal Alliance, this program
encourages children in grade 5-12 to make positive life choices, become
safety conscience, and have fun doing it. To be held at South Orange Community Pool, 10:00 am – noon, and at Memorial Park, directly behind the library, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm.

As part of the National Night Out Community Party, the Hoboken Police Department will be offering bike safety lessons and giving out free helmets to children. The party will be held on Harrison Street from Second to Fourth Streets starting at 5:00 pm. In addition, there will be blow-up rides, DJs, cotton candy, hot dogs and hamburgers and some surprise celebrity guests!

August 4

Warren County Farmers’ Fair and Hot Air Balloon Festival will again be holding their most unusual competition – the 4th Annual Bicycle Balloon Race. In this race the balloon pilots team up with a bicyclist and launch the balloon with bike and biker on board - the bike rider is in the basket and the bike is strapped to the outside of the basket. The pilot must then fly past a predetermined landmark before landing and letting the biker out. The biker then races back to the Fairgrounds. The team that completes this race in the shortest amount of time wins. All registration fees for this event are donated to the ADM Foundation.

Ringwood Beginner Bike Rides are scheduled every other Wednesday evening throughout the summer and fall until daylight fades. For a good time, join the JORBA experts for no-drop, beginner friendly, fun mountain bike rides on some of Ringwood's gentler trails. Arrive by 5:30 pm. For more information, please see JORBA’s website.

The Princeton Free Wheelers 30th Annual Bicycling Event. Tour the beautiful countryside around central New Jersey with cyclists from all over the eastern US. Tours include an easy and kid-friendly sixteen-mile ride. Riders are welcome to enjoy the rest stop snacks and the post-ride lunch, and everyone is invited to shop at the on-site food and vendor area.

Every Saturday through October 16, Duke Farms of Hillsborough holds Scenic Bike Tours from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. These seven-mile guided rides will take you past lakes, waterfalls, bridges and sweeping vistas. Participants are required to bring their own mountain bikes and protective headgear for this tour. The leisurely-paced ride is suitable for all riders who can ride for two hours, unassisted. The ride includes both paved and gravel roads and does include some inclines. Bike seats or trailers are encouraged for younger or less secure riders. Advance registration is required. Each group is limited to 20 people; the cost is $10 per person or $5 for children in a bike seat or a trailer. See www.dukefarms.org for more information.

Join Marty's Reliable Cycle for a Family Bike Ride! Meet at 9:00 am at Loantaka Park on South Street in Morristown. Everyone is welcome, bring your kids, bring your bikes and get ready to have some fun. For those interested in new ways to tote the smallest family members around, Zigo will be there with six Zigo Leader X2 Carrier Bicycles for rides and
demos. Reserve a Zigo Leader for the ride by emailing Amy at
amy@martysreliable.com.

August 10

Allaire Beginner Bike Rides, sponsored by JORBA
each Tuesday. This is an easy paced and friendly mountain bike ride
through the trails of Allaire State Park. Helmets, water, a bike, and a
desire to meet some fun folk are all that is required. Meetup is at
6:00 pm. For more information, please see JORBA’s
website, or contact Frank Harms at allaire@jorba.org.

August 14

TransOptions of Cedar Knolls is offering a FREE Traffic Safety 101 Defensive Bike Skills Training Class from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. The class is to be held at their offices at 2 Ridgedale Avenue, Suite 200. For more information or to sign up email info@TransOptions.org, or phone 973-267-7600.

Every Saturday through October 16, Duke Farms of Hillsborough holds Scenic Bike Tours
from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. These seven-mile guided rides will take you
past lakes, waterfalls, bridges and sweeping vistas. Participants are
required to bring their own mountain bikes and protective headgear for
this tour. The leisurely-paced ride is suitable for all riders who can
ride for two hours, unassisted. The ride includes both paved and gravel
roads and does include some inclines. Bike seats or trailers are
encouraged for younger or less secure riders. Advance registration is
required. Each group is limited to 20 people; the cost is $10 per
person or $5 for children in a bike seat or a trailer. See www.dukefarms.org for more information.

Twilight Bike Tours of Duke Farms in Hillsborough are also a great way to enjoy the outdoors as evening approaches. These rides follow the same routes as their morning Scenic Bike Tour, (offered above), but run from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Advance registration is required. Each group is limited to 20 people; the cost is $10 per person or $5 for children in a bike seat or a trailer. See www.dukefarms.org for more information.

August 15

The Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey (BTCNJ ) Ramapo Rally is the premier bicycling event in northern New Jersey. The shorter twelve and twenty-five mile rides are family-friendly and should appeal to the novice or less ambitious rider. These rides meander through the suburban Bergen County towns of Mahwah, Ramsey, Allendale and Franklin Lakes. The flat to rolling courses travel along many quiet tree shaded roads.

Need a tune up? Is your bike not working properly? Join Brick City Bike Collective at Newark’s Lincoln Park from 2:00-4:00 pm, and learn how to fix your bike! Mechanics will be in hand to help diagnose problems and show you how to do minor repairs. At 4:00 pm they will leave the park for their monthly Sunday ride.

August 17

Allaire Beginner Bike Rides, sponsored by JORBA
each Tuesday. This is an easy paced and friendly mountain bike ride
through the trails of Allaire State Park. Helmets, water, a bike, and a
desire to meet some fun folk are all that is required. Meetup is at
6:00 pm. For more information, please see JORBA’s
website, or contact Frank Harms at allaire@jorba.org.

August 18

Ringwood Beginner Bike Rides are scheduled every other Wednesday evening throughout the summer and fall until daylight fades. For a good time, join the JORBA experts for no-drop, beginner friendly, fun mountain bike rides on some of Ringwood's gentler trails. Arrive by 5:30 pm. For more information, please see JORBA’s website.

August 21

JORBA’s Hilltop Grasshopper Mountain Bike Race for Kids will be held at the Hilltop Reservation in North Caldwell. Come out for a local fun race with awards for all participants. This is a specially prepared course that includes smooth roadways as well as a fun and winding trail through the woods, ideal for both new and experienced young riders. Any bike with fatter tires is ideal, and mechanics will inspect all bikes for safety and last minute race tuning.

Every Saturday through October 16, Duke Farms of Hillsborough holds Scenic Bike Tours
from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. These seven-mile guided rides will take you
past lakes, waterfalls, bridges and sweeping vistas. Participants are
required to bring their own mountain bikes and protective headgear for
this tour. The leisurely-paced ride is suitable for all riders who can
ride for two hours, unassisted. The ride includes both paved and gravel
roads and does include some inclines. Bike seats or trailers are
encouraged for younger or less secure riders. Advance registration is
required. Each group is limited to 20 people; the cost is $10 per
person or $5 for children in a bike seat or a trailer. See www.dukefarms.org for more information.

August 22

Join the Columbia Tromp and help Stomp Out Cancer. Bike, walk or run along the Columbia Trail from Long Valley to High Bridge, with a huge rest stop party at Califon's Island Park at about the halfway mark. Shuttle buses and bike trucks will be available at High Bridge to bring you back to the starting point, if you need them. For more info and to register, see the event website.

August 24

Allaire Beginner Bike Rides, sponsored by JORBA
each Tuesday. This is an easy paced and friendly mountain bike ride
through the trails of Allaire State Park. Helmets, water, a bike, and a
desire to meet some fun folk are all that is required. Meetup is at
6:00 pm. For more information, please see JORBA’s
website, or contact Frank Harms at allaire@jorba.org.

August 27

Bike& Walk Montclair’s Last Friday Ride - aka "Critical Manners" or "Courteous Mass." Meet at 6:30 pm at Bellevue Station – the ride leaves the station at 7:00 pm sharp! Bring lights and plenty of good spirits! Last Friday rides are community led bike rides on the last Friday of every month. This ride is slow-paced and family-friendly.

August 28

As part of the Cohansey RiverFest, take the "Gotta See an Eagle" Bike Tour. Join members of the American Littoral Society for a two-to-three-hour long interpretive bike tour from downtown Bridgeton to Hancock’s Harbor in Greenwich. The tour travels 20 miles, and makes stops at Caviar Point, the Cohansey Wildlife Management Area and other locations. The tour begins at the downtown boat ramp at Broad Street, and includes shuttle bus service back to Bridgeton. $6.00 per person.

Every Saturday through October 16, Duke Farms of Hillsborough holds Scenic Bike Tours
from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. These seven-mile guided rides will take you
past lakes, waterfalls, bridges and sweeping vistas. Participants are
required to bring their own mountain bikes and protective headgear for
this tour. The leisurely-paced ride is suitable for all riders who can
ride for two hours, unassisted. The ride includes both paved and gravel
roads and does include some inclines. Bike seats or trailers are
encouraged for younger or less secure riders. Advance registration is
required. Each group is limited to 20 people; the cost is $10 per
person or $5 for children in a bike seat or a trailer. See www.dukefarms.org for more information.

Twilight Bike Tours of Duke Farms in Hillsborough
are also a great way to enjoy the outdoors as evening approaches. These
rides follow the same routes as their morning Scenic Bike Tour,
(offered above), but run from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Advance registration
is required. Each group is limited to 20 people; the cost is $10 per
person or $5 for children in a bike seat or a trailer. See www.dukefarms.org for more information.

August 31

Allaire Beginner Bike Rides, sponsored by JORBA
each Tuesday. This is an easy paced and friendly mountain bike ride
through the trails of Allaire State Park. Helmets, water, a bike, and a
desire to meet some fun folk are all that is required. Meetup is at
6:00 pm. For more information, please see JORBA’s
website, or contact Frank Harms at allaire@jorba.org.